This invention is in the field of water circulation and filtration systems for both freshwater and salt-water aquariums.
The maintenance of high water quality in aquariums is essential for successfully keeping many breeds of fish and other aquatic organisms. For example, it is the dream of every discus fish hobbyist to decorate their living space with plant-containing aquariums in which large discus fish live comfortably. However, it is not only labor-intensive, but also impractical for amateur hobbyists, or even professional breeders, to keep discus fish in tanks with plants due to the fact that discus require ultra clean water. The major source of contamination in an aquarium tank is debris from left-over food, plant and animal waste accumulated under the gravel, with the resulting release of excessive amounts of toxic metabolites and substances such as ammonium and organic acids from decaying substances. In addition, the presence of such debris promotes the growth of infectious bacteria and fungi. It is therefore strongly recommended that aquariums with discus fish do not contain any kind of bottom substrate in order to avoid the accumulation of debris. The only way to make a more attractive discus tank is to decorate the tank with individually potted plants, thereby lowering the aesthetic quality of the aquarium.
Various filter systems have been invented to maintain water quality in an aquarium tank. Regardless of the different features of individual filtration systems, all systems fail to work for a prolonged period. For example, under gravel filtration systems have been widely used. However, accumulation of insoluble debris between and under the pieces of gravel is significant, since no debris is removed from the tank. Therefore, this system requires a complete, periodic cleaning of the gravel, which is labor intensive. Other examples of filter systems, which are currently popular include outside filter systems that hang onto the side of the aquarium, top on filters, canister filters, and sump systems. However, these systems have similar problems to the gravel filtered systems, since insoluble debris is not removed effectively and accumulates between and under gravel pieces. Another disadvantage of using an outside filter is that anaerobic regions form within the bottom substrates due to a lack of water circulation. Therefore, many hobbyists, regardless of the type of systems used, have experienced a sudden death of animals. To prevent this, labor intensive, periodic cleaning of the bottom substrate is required.
Since ammonia is the most toxic substance in aquarium water, it should be removed by culturing aerobic bacteria, which convert ammonia to nitrate and nitrite, and by culturing anaerobic bacteria, which convert nitrite to nitrogen gas. This idea was used in the Monaco-system, which is widely known among salt-water tank hobbyists. However, this system is not practical for relatively small aquariums at home or the office, since anaerobic degradation of organic substances also releases toxic chemicals such as sulfide gas.
The efforts in developing and improving water filtration systems of aquarium tanks in the past have been focused on how to effectively culture nitrogen-fixing bacteria flora on the filter materials to eliminate toxic substances such as urea, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. This idea was based on the misunderstanding of the major sources of nitrogen compounds. Animal metabolites including urea, creatine, amino acids and organic acids, which are generally water soluble, are not the major sources of pollutants in the water. The major source of pollutants is the insoluble materials that accumulate at the tank bottom, such as left over food, feces, dead animals and plants, and overgrown bacteria. These insoluble materials, which consist of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and celluloses, are decomposed into small molecules such as amino acids, sugars, ammonia, urea, organic acids, nitrate, nitrite, sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, etc. by bacteria in the water. Therefore, if debris accumulates at the bottom of the tank, the amount of pollutants released from the decomposed debris increases drastically.
In addition, overgrowth of bacteria in nutrition-rich water is another major problem, since these bacteria themselves become a source of nitrogen compounds and various kinds of toxic substances. The most effective method to remove the soluble toxic nitrogen compounds is to use plants in fresh water, and coral algae grown on live rocks and macro-algae in salt water. The effects are still underestimated and are not used widely.
Furthermore, bottom substrates such as gravel, coral sand and live rocks, provide enough surface area to cultivate bacteria flora, which degrade both soluble and insoluble organic substances. Therefore, the main purpose of a water filtration system should be the removal of insoluble organic debris from the tank before it degrades, rather than cultivating bacteria to facilitate the metabolism of nitrogen compounds.
The present invention provides a water filtration system or cleaning system, together with methods for its use, which allows for effective removal of insoluble debris at the bottom of an aquarium, thereby maintaining high water quality in the aquarium without intensive work.
In one embodiment, the inventive system comprises: (a) a water flushing tube adapted to be positioned at one end of the aquarium, the water flushing tube comprising a first generally vertical tubular member connected at one end to a hose for connection to a water supply or to a reverse power-head pump, and connected at the other end to a generally right-angled water jet tube, or connector, having an opening to be positioned in proximity to the base of the aquarium; (b) a water draining tube adapted to be positioned at the opposing end of the aquarium, the water draining tube comprising a second generally vertical tubular member being connected at one end to a hose for the drainage of water out of the aquarium and connected at the other end to a generally right-angled siphon tube, or connector, having an opening to be positioned in proximity to the base of the aquarium; and (c) a water circulation tube adapted to be positioned at the opposing end of the aquarium, the water circulation tube comprising a third generally vertical tubular member being connectable at one end to a filter located outside the aquarium and having an opening to be positioned in proximity to the base of the aquarium. In a preferred embodiment, the aquarium is provided with a gravel screen and the openings of the water flushing tube, water circulation tube and water draining tube are positioned below the screen.
In an alternative embodiment, the water flushing tube is connected to a horizontal tube which is placed along at least one inner side of the aquarium and which has multiple holes placed along its length. Preferably the holes face perpendicular to the bottom of the tank. Similarly, the water circulation and draining tubes are connected to a second horizontal tube having multiple holes along its length and which is placed along at least one opposing side of the aquarium. Preferably the holes in the second horizontal tube face down towards the bottom of the aquarium.
In the above inventive methods, water is passed through the water flushing tube, either from the water supply or by means of the reverse power-head pump, and directed towards the opposite side of the aquarium, thereby pushing debris accumulated on the bottom of the aquarium towards the water draining and water circulation tubes. Water and debris are then removed from the aquarium through the water draining tube into an external container or drain and/or through the water circulation tube to the filter. Preferably, water and debris are continually removed from the tank by means of the water circulating tube and debris is trapped by the outside filter, whereas clean water is returned into the aquarium through the water flushing tube. Furthermore, water and debris are removed from the aquarium to the outside, such as a sink, drain or containers, through the water draining tube as necessary.
In another embodiment, the inventive system comprises: (a) at least a first and a final filtration chamber which connect in series to each other and wherein the final filtration chamber contains an individual filter cartridge; (b) a water draining tube, which at one end is connected to the first filtration chamber, and at the other end has an opening which is adapted to be positioned at one end of the aquarium; (c) a pump located after the filtration chambers; and (d) a water flushing tube, connected at one end to the pump and which at the other end has an opening adapted to be positioned at an opposing end of the aquarium. Preferably, the inventive system comprises four filtration filters.
The two embodiments mentioned above use a closed, sealed water filtration system in order to avoid potential problems such as shut down of water circulation caused by a broken siphon or over flow of water caused by plugging of the water flow in the tube returning to the tank. By placing the power pump after the filtration chamber, no pre-filter is required to protect the pump from large solid materials, thus this system can be run continuously to siphon out insoluble debris that accumulates at the tank bottom. By using separate filtration chambers, which contain removable cartridges, the individual filter chambers can be cleaned independently. For example, the filter cartridge in the second chamber, which collects debris materials, can be easily replaced without disturbing other filter chambers, which are beneficial for bacteria growth.
Using the inventive system and methods, debris may be effectively removed from an aquarium without removing any objects, such as fish, live plants and gravel, thereby maintaining a high level of water quality cost-effectively and with minimal labor. The inventive system further enables effective use of the biological cleaning effect of plants, which utilizes animal waste. The water quality in aquariums with densely growing plants is much higher than in a bare aquarium. Using conventional filtering and cleaning systems, the accumulation of debris significantly increases after a certain period and overwhelms the plants"" water cleaning ability. Using the inventive system, the accumulation of debris can be readily avoided by routine removal of debris at the aquarium bottom. When plants grow well, their nitrogen uptake is significant and much less water exchange is required.
The above-mentioned and additional features of the present invention and the manner of obtaining them will become apparent, and the invention will be best understood by reference to the following more detailed description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.